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Thursday, 10 May 2012

Obama on Same-Sex Marriage

It has been a highly contentious issue in American politics
for some years now, with many politicians using clever words and neat quotes to
scurry around the topic but now President Obama has spoken outright that same-sex
marriage should be legalised in America. Obama has himself seemingly been
avoiding making a clear statement for some time; instead describing himself as
“evolving” on the issue. This turn of events is sure to bring hope to
supporters of same-sex marriage across America and in the wider world. However,
this comes just a day after the state of North Caroline voted to ban same-sex
marriages and similar amendments have taken place in roughly 30 other states,
so is the issue any closer to being solved?

While many want same-sex marriage to be banned by the state,
not even allowing civil partnership, opponents of the move to ban same-sex
marriage have often stressed that the issue isn’t a political one and therefore
should not be controlled by the state. They say that whether or not a same-sex
couple can get married should be up to the church they wish to get married at
as most of the arguments against same-sex marriage are religious rather than
political.

North Carolina voted to ban same-sex marriages

That is not to say that there will be no political ramifications
of what Obama said. As elections get closer and closer and statements made by either
Obama or his presumptive Republican rival, Mitt Romney, will be deeply
scrutinised. A bold statement such as this is bound to put a spin on the
opinion polls as there are still a lot of people strongly opposed and in favour
of same-sex marriage. By making this statement Obama has also put himself at
sharper odds with Romney (who is deeply opposed to same-sex marriage and
favours an amendment to ban in completely in America).

However, this new view expressed by Obama has already gained
him backing by some of his fellow politicians. Senator Kristen Gillibrand,
Democrat of New York (one of the few states where same-sex marriage is legal),
has said that “The president’s unequivocal support today in favour of all
committed couples to marry the person they love is a watershed moment in
American history that will provide the leadership needed to finally repeal DOMA
[Defence of Marriage Act] and win the unfinished fight for equality for all
Americans.” Politicians aren’t the only one’s showing their support - people in
the media spotlight such as Neil Patrick Harris and Perez Hilton have already
turned to Twitter to praise Obama on his straight talking response to a
commonly asked question.

Personally I'm glad that a politician as important as Barack Obama has decided to stop sitting on the fence on big issues such as same-sex marriage. As someone in favour of civil rights I'm really pleased to see such an advance forward after so many steps back with many states banning same-sex marriages.

So what do you think? Was Obama wise to step off the fence so close to the elections? What are your views on civil rights? Leave a comment - I'd love to hear your opinions.by Clemency Flitter